1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to sealed optical fiber closures, and in particular to closures which include an optical fiber organizer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years as deployment of optical fiber into rural and urban areas has become more prolific, an increasing need for closures which can adequately protect the fiber from the environment has increased. Koht et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,516; Campbell et al. U.S. Pat. No 4,983,008; and Nolf et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,522, the disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference, disclose various optical fiber closures which provide excellent environmental protection. However, it is oftentimes difficult to ensure that each and every entry and exit point into and out of such closures is adequately sealed, and sealing efficiency decreases if such closures are opened. Accordingly, a need exists for an optical fiber closure which provides adequate environmental protection for optical fiber even in instances when it is necessary to open a closure to achieve access to nonfiber components.
In addition, optical fiber closures utilized in fiber in the loop or fiber to the curb applications whereby fiber is deployed in close proximity to a subscriber's premises generally include electronic signal processing equipment as well as electrooptic components which are included within the closure. Since new outside construction projects are generally designed for maximum capacity far in excess of that initially required, the cost of designing such closures to enable it to support the maximum number of subscribers is rather high. Accordingly, a need exists for a closure which has a reduced installed first cost and can support the initial number of subscribers required to be serviced, and yet is capable of being accessed and reconfigured at future times to allow additional subscribers to be serviced and yet not unduly damage optical fiber being contained within the closure due to such reentrys.